Krazy Glue for Your First Aid Supplies

I had a friend write with an idea for 72 hour kits or first aid kits. Her son fell about 9 feet out of a tree onto the cement edge of their pond and got a nasty gash by his eye and a concussion. After getting it all cleaned up and disinfected, a neighbor who also happens to be a nurse gave them some of this to close the cut up.

Krazy Glue? Seriously. If you’ve ever gotten this stuff on your fingers, you know how well it sticks skin together. And the individual use tubes are perfect–you probably also know how well a big tube of Krazy Glue glues itself shut after one use. The nurse friend told them super glue was invented for the purpose of closing skin. Their son did have to take a trip to the doctor to get the concussion checked out, he’s doing much better and the cut is reportedly healing nicely.

I know when we had our daughter fall and cut her chin, the emergency room glued it together. They probably used one of these mini tubes of Krazy Glue and charged us a fortune for it. Definitely would have been cheaper to do that one ourselves! It would be worth picking a few of these up and having them handy in your first aid kits or emergency kits.

I've used both Liquid Bandage and Band-Aid's single-use swab version on multiple occasions – most recently when I swung a 6 gal bucket into my own face and split the side of my eye open. A single use swab and butterfly bandage worked beautifully. My only concern is to make sure the wound is clean and disinfected prior to closure to ensure against infection. The products are not cheap to buy, but definitely less expensive than a trip to the ER. I've got it stocked in all my 1st aid kits – home, car, and work.

Current use: Although not labeled as such, over-the-counter Super Glue products contain methyl alcohol, because it is inexpensive to produce. Cyanoacrylates cure by a chemical reaction called polymerization, which produces heat. Methyl alcohol has a pronounced heating action when it contacts tissue and may even produce burns if the glue contacts a large enough area of tissue. Rapid curing may also lead to tissue necrosis. Midwives have not noted such reactions because minimal amounts are being used for perineal repair. Nevertheless, with a greater toxic potential, over-the-counter products are inappropriate for use in wound closure. (Quinn & Kissick, 1994)

Medical grade products currently available contain either butyl, isobutyl or octyl esters. They are bacteriostatic and painless to apply when used as directed, produce minimal thermal reaction when applied to dry skin and break down harmlessly in tissue. They are essentially inert once dry. Butyl products are rigid when dry, but provide a strong bond. Available octyl products are more flexible when dry, but produce a weaker bond.

I keep super glue in my kits for just this reason. I've used it before with good results. However, I don't use it to close every little cut. I only use Super Glue if I have a cut that keeps wanting to open up and bleed using regular bandages/band aids.

You know the kind of wound I'm talking about… You get a cut and clean it well. You put pressure on it and the bleeding stops just fine. You bandage it up but because of its location it keeps opening back up and can't heal…

I experienced a slight burning sensation only once. However compared with getting stitches without anesthetic?… No contest. I'll deal with the super glue burn just fine.

That's the niche Super Glue fills in my kit. I use it when plain bandages aren't enough and when stitches aren't necessary (or practical).

My father had open heart surgery. They wired the cut breastbone, rough-stitched the muscles, and glued the skin. Left a pretty minimal scar for such a wound. (Though at 80, he doesn't care if he has a scar on his chest. LOL)One should be pretty careful with glues around the eye. A very steady hand is in order.All wounds being closed should be well irrigated. Rinse, rinse, rinse.

I use super glue for those little painful cracks and splits I get in dry weather, usually during the winter. They are always either on a knuckle where they have a difficult time healing, or they are on the tip of a finger or thumb and I am constantly banging them into stuff. I also use it if I tear or bend a fingernail. Just put a thin coating of super glue gel on the back of the nail and it strengthens the nail.

So far I fortunately haven't had the opportunity to use it on a large wound.

The biggest problem I find with the stuff aging is after it is opened. I only use a small amount at a time so I sometimes have trouble with the nozzle clogging.